Has anyone noticed a difference between stock cheap snare side heads and say Remo Ambassador (or whatever brand/model) snare heads? At that thickness is there really a sound difference? Just wondering if I should bother changing the stock heads on a couple of my snares. I can't say I have noticed a difference over the years of using both. Would like some opinions.

Okay, I took the plunge and bought an Evans 300 snare side head. Never tried those before. I'm not hearing a whole lot of difference if any. Oh, well at least I have good heads everywhere, haha.

Side rant: I bought an Evans 'cause they are so much less expensive than Remo, it's crazy. The Evans cost me $13.99 and the Remo was $21.99! I would probably use Remo if there wasn't such a big price difference. But bloody hell, that difference adds up fast if you're getting several heads. I got it at a local store very near my house that sells books, CD's and musical instruments (Archambault) and their prices are probably higher than the music stores in town but the gas I would burn would make the difference in savings nil. So bottom line is if I don't have a reason to go to those stores I'm buying Evans locally. Remo too $$$.

I usually replace mine with a Remo Hazy Ambassador. I've tried a few different Evans snare side heads, because the stores were out of Remo, and hated them. That cost sounds a bit high for a Remo. They're usually within a couple dollars on comparable heads. Even at that big of a cost difference, I'd have gotten the Remo or not changed the stock head.

Okay, I took the plunge and bought an Evans 300 snare side head. Never tried those before. I'm not hearing a whole lot of difference if any. Oh, well at least I have good heads everywhere, haha.

Side rant: I bought an Evans 'cause they are so much less expensive than Remo, it's crazy. The Evans cost me $13.99 and the Remo was $21.99! I would probably use Remo if there wasn't such a big price difference. But bloody hell, that difference adds up fast if you're getting several heads. I got it at a local store very near my house that sells books, CD's and musical instruments (Archambault) and their prices are probably higher than the music stores in town but the gas I would burn would make the difference in savings nil. So bottom line is if I don't have a reason to go to those stores I'm buying Evans locally. Remo too $$$.

That's a totally ridiculous price for that head, which can be found for the price of that Evans or less almost anywhere else. Why not order them off the internet?

Okay, I took the plunge and bought an Evans 300 snare side head. Never tried those before. I'm not hearing a whole lot of difference if any. Oh, well at least I have good heads everywhere, haha.

Side rant: I bought an Evans 'cause they are so much less expensive than Remo, it's crazy. The Evans cost me $13.99 and the Remo was $21.99! I would probably use Remo if there wasn't such a big price difference. But bloody hell, that difference adds up fast if you're getting several heads. I got it at a local store very near my house that sells books, CD's and musical instruments (Archambault) and their prices are probably higher than the music stores in town but the gas I would burn would make the difference in savings nil. So bottom line is if I don't have a reason to go to those stores I'm buying Evans locally. Remo too $$$.

You are up in Canada, have alot of family there. If there is that much difference in price between Remo and Evans, I would be using Evans for everything. Yes, Remo were the first, but it does not mean they are the best anymore. Times are changing and Remo has solid competition from Evans and Aquarian. I have had Aquarian resos on for about 6 months.

Okay, I took the plunge and bought an Evans 300 snare side head. Never tried those before. I'm not hearing a whole lot of difference if any. Oh, well at least I have good heads everywhere, haha.

If you're not accustomed to the differences, it probably won't seem like much to you. What I notice the most is more of a cristp tone and much better and more articulate sensitivity, especially if you have good snare wires. The more you tune and experiment with different things, the more apparent these subtle differences will start to become. Replacing all stock heads (aside from on drums that come with nice heads) is something that is very important for me. It's the first thing I do when I get something new.

I play all Evans except for some of my crazy vintage drums that have stock heads. Yes I notice a difference with changing out snare side heads. I have a lot of Evans hazy 300 but I do like the Evans Hazy 200 and the Ludwig snare side heads. Many of my Ludwig snares had these and they sounded great so why change a good thing.